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Angel Falls
Angel Falls (Spanish: Salto Ángel; Pemon language: Kerepakupai Meru meaning "waterfall of the deepest place", or Parakupá Vená, meaning "the fall from the highest point") is a waterfall in Venezuela. It is the world's highest uninterrupted waterfall, with a height of 979 metres (3,212 ft) and a plunge of 807 m (2,648 ft). The waterfall drops over the edge of the Auyán-tepui mountain in the Canaima National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Canaima), a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Gran Sabana region of Bolívar State. The height figure, 979 m (3,212 ft), mostly consists of the main plunge but also includes about 400 metres (1,300 ft) of sloped cascade and rapids below the drop and a 30-metre (98 ft) high plunge downstream of the talus rapids. The falls are along a fork of the Rio Kerepacupai Meru which flows into the Churun River, a tributary of the Carrao River, itself a tributary of the Orinoco River. The waterfall has been known as the Angel Falls since the mid-20th century; they are named after Jimmie Angel, a US aviator, who was the first person to fly over the falls. Angel's ashes were scattered over the falls on 2 July 1960. The common Spanish name Salto Ángel derives from his surname. In 2009, President Hugo Chávezannounced his intention to change the name to the purported original indigenous Pemon term ("Kerepakupai Vená", meaning "waterfall of the deepest place"), on the grounds that the nation's most famous landmark should bear an indigenous name. Explaining the name change, Chávez was reported to have said, "This is ours, long before Angel ever arrived there ... this is indigenous land." However, he later said that he would not decree the change of name, but only was defending the use of Kerepakupai Vená. Exploration Sir Walter Raleigh in his expedition to find the fabled city of El Dorado described what was possibly a tepui (table top mountain), and he is said to have been the first European to view Angel Falls, although these claims are considered far-fetched. Some historians state that the first European to visit the waterfall was Fernando de Berrío, a Spanish explorer and governor from the 16th and 17th centuries. Other sources state that the first westerner to see the waterfall was the Spanish explorer Fèlix Cardona in 1927. They were not known to the outside world until American aviator Jimmie Angel, following directions given by the explorer Fèlix Cardona, who had seen the waterfall six years before, flew over them on 16 November 1933 on a flight while he was searching for a valuable ore bed. Angel Falls is one of Venezuela's top tourist attractions, though a trip to the falls is a complicated affair. The falls are located in an isolated jungle. A flight from Puerto Ordazor Ciudad Bolívar is required to reach Canaima camp, the starting point for river trips to the base of the falls. River trips generally take place from June to December, when the rivers are deep enough for use by the Pemon guides. During the dry season (December to March), there is less water seen than in the other months. Category:Primeval locations Category:Places in South America Category:Permian period